FAQ

As temperatures cool down tender crops like tomatoes will need some help if you would like to extend their growing season and protect them from frost.  A very effective method of protecting your tomatoes is to use mulch.  You can use several layers of newspaper, straw, chopped cornstalks or commercially made products.  Other methods of protection include using tarps, floating row covers, or blankets placed over the plants to supply some insulation.  These methods can help protect your plants from light frosts.  You can find more information and details on methods for protecting your plants at http://cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/722.pdf.

A tool that you can use to help determine when you would need to protect your tomatoes from freezing is the Utah freeze dates table located on the Utah Climate Center website http://climate.usurf.usu.edu/reports/freezeDates.php.  This table gives information for over 200 different stations located all over Utah.  Below is a sample of that table with the Salt Lake stations listed.